The proliferation of new media technology has affected every aspect of our lives, be it economic, political or social. We live in an age where more people have radios than mattresses. Where Cellullar phone penetration has reached a level where half the worlds population own a cell-phone. You might not have food on your table, but your Nokia is always close by.
Technology has infiltrated all facets of Human existence – from the things we take for granted like Third Umpire Rulings in a cricket match, to the ways we entertain ourselves – Xboxes are the modern Board games. Even religion has been caught up in this technological determinism. Our mosques, churches, synagogues and temples are rapidly employing technology to disrupt cellphones (An annoyance in any Faith). Who knows when these spaces will become Wi Fi Hot Spots.
I look back and think to myself – traveling must have sucked in the old days. No PSP’s, Laptops or Ipods. Modern cars are fitted with LCD screens and DVD Players, Aircrafts have the latest touch screen technology for entertainment. Even running shoes are fitted with devices that calculate all manner of statistics (Nike and Ipod)
There is a certain amount of synergy with regards to Digital technology (Devices ‘speak’ to each other so chances of compatibility are high) Also – there are certain formats that tend to be universal (MP3, JPEG etc) so I never had issues with these types of files when Im presenting at conferences or seminars. The worst that usually happens is that the Projector won’t ‘pick up’ my laptop. It happened to me once, and then I thought to myself ‘Next time, I’ll just use the laptop provided’.
I transferred my Powerpoint presentation to a flash drive. Left my Laptop in my hotel room and made my way to the Conference Centre. The first speaker finished and it was my turn to present so I walked up to the AV equipment, plugged in the flashdrive and walked towards the lectern. One of the tech guys approached me and asked me to transfer it to the laptop as it would be more reliable. Well, when in Rome.. so with that in mind – I created a folder named MJ. Dumped the file there and made my way back to the podium.
As I went up to speak I gave a slight nod to the tech guy so that he could start the presentation. I was presenting a paper called ‘How Gaming will take over the world’, so I expected a few raised eyebrows in the audience. Instead I got a few uncomfortable shuffles, and some open jaws. I looked up at the screen behind me and with utter shock I discovered that instead of my presentation there was a massive picture of a Manga (Japanese animation) drawn Mary Jane and Spiderman having sex.
Needless to say, Now I travel everywhere with my laptop.
MJ